1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for removing debris, pollutants and other floating material from the surface of bodies of water.
2. Statement of the Problem
Environmental awareness is becoming increasingly more prevalent in response to preservation of the global ecology. The advent of offshore drilling platforms and the use of supertankers to transport crude oil and the like has greatly increased the likelihood and magnitude of catastrophic damage to the oceans, lakes, and rivers by contamination due to spillage of pollutants on these bodies of waters. The damage and destruction from these pollutants can wreak havoc to the ecology that can potentially take decades to recover.
Current methods of cleaning polluted waters have been unsatisfactory, particularly when the conditions have been less than ideal. Speed in cleaning spills is critical due to the rapid spreading of the floating surface material by the currents and wind. Delays may occur in cleaning isolated sites due to problems in transporting the equipment to the site. The turbulence of the oceans or other bodies of water often prevents the equipment from being used.
The apparatus currently used are simple mechanisms such as handheld devices or throwing rags or straw on the surface to absorb the material which are ineffective in cleaning large areas or else complex devices which are expensive to manufacture and to maintain. The complex devices normally are not effective in completely removing pollutants from the surfaces, particularly when there is a wide range of depth of the pollutants, turbulence of the surfaces and difficulties in the site conditions.
Other methods utilizing chemicals or burning of the floating material are dangerous to the environment and are simply not feasible for large areas that may need to be cleaned.
There presently exists a need for a system to quickly recover floating material such as pollutants or debris from the surfaces of bodies of water without regard to the demands of the particular site conditions.
3. Solution to the Problem
The present invention solves this problem and others by providing a modular self-contained system which can be easily transportable. This system can be operated in a wide variety of sites and under a wide range of conditions. The system of the current invention is designed to be relatively simple and inexpensive but is effective in recovering floating materials from the surfaces of bodies of water almost regardless of the depth of the materials floating on the surface or the turbulence of the surface or the condition of the site.